Classroom Guide to the Jewish Holidays

by Carol Starin, Bonnie J. Morris, Jane Golub

The central idea of this teachers guide is that holidays are a lot more than names and descriptions. Holidays need to become memories. The right way to make that happen in a classroom is to balance the information with experiences. The Classroom Guide to the Jewish Holidays is a collection of experiences and resources. It is about what you do after you teach that seder means ''order''. It is crafts projects and activities, recipes and songs. It is things to do at school and things for parents to do at home. Backward Planning The way to use this guide is simple. First (using backward planning) decide what you are trying to accomplish in your lessons on a holiday. The teachers guide begins with Central Idea(s); these are the focus of the teaching you are going to do. Underneath these are ''enabling ideas.'' These are the insights that one needs to collect in order to add up to our central idea. It is always easier to hit a target once it is painted. Your job is to collect the enabling ideas you are committed to teaching. You next step is to shape your tools in order to hit these enabling understandings. Go ahead and check them off in this teachers guide. You then need to look at your textbook and decide how it can be used to actualize the enabling ideas that are now your goals. Pick the pages you want to read in class. Pick the activities that the book offers and decide which of them meets your goals. Remember, you are responsible for the way you use the book; the book does not run your class. Then begin flipping through the pages of this teachers guide. Pick activities that satisfy two (1) They have to help you hit your target; (2) they have to be events that you want to stage (and feel comfortable staging) in your classroom. Then you need to put all of this together. Write your enabling ideas at the top of a page. List pieces of your book and activities under each idea that they help you to convey. Then divide up these ideas and activities into the time you have available for this holiday. Torah Aura Productions publishes books for Jewish schools and families that help celebrate our heritage and our faith. We have over 25 years of experience as the leading creator of high quality educational materials that enable Jewish children to become empowered Jewish adults. Our books guide and enhance the Jewish knowledge, spirituality and identity of children and their families, and our innovative tools bring Judaism alive in synagogues, Hebrew schools, and day schools. Torah Aura Productions was founded in 1981 by a group of innovative Jewish educators who looked out at the field of Jewish education and found materials that were shallow and dull. They started a company to create new tools for families and teachers that would be exciting and meaningful. For more than two decades, Torah Aura has revolutionized the way Jewish schools enable their students to become empowered Jewish adults, and has helped families make Judaism a meaningful presence in their homes. Some of the areas we publish
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98 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011